A huge £11million boost to drive the rollout of more efficient
and greener electric buses across our region has today been
confirmed.
The new funding – announced by the department for transport –
will pay for another 82 electric buses to run from 2027 and
support the full electrification of a further two bus depots,
taking the region's total to three.
The additional funding will mean tees valley will have 170
electric vehicles after a total investment of more than
£65million.
More than half of the entire bus fleet in the region will soon be
electric after just two years from the first vehicle taking to
the roads – saving on energy costs, reducing environmental
impacts and making journeys better for passengers.
Tees valley mayor ben houchen said: “this is great news for
people across our region and means we'll see better, more
reliable buses on our roads.
“we know there's still more work to do to give local people the
transport network they deserve, so alongside major upgrades to
our railway stations, we're investing in the latest technology to
keep traffic moving and make our road network work better for
motorists.
“this funding will bring new buses into service and upgrade the
depots needed to keep them running, and is another step towards
the modern, reliable transport system people across our region
expect and deserve.”
Tees valley initially received £7.8million from the department
for transport in the first phase of the zero emission bus
regional area (zebra) fund in 2024.
Alongside £21.7million from the bus operators, this funding saw
61 fully electric buses on the arriva and stagecoach local bus
fleet.
This contributed towards the full electrification of stagecoach's
stockton depot, and upcoming partial electrification of the
arriva darlington depot fleet.
This latest additional zebra funding will allow the stagecoach
depot, in hartlepool, and the remainder of the arriva depot, in
darlington, to be fully electrified by 2027.
All electric stagecoach buses in our region can be easily spotted
as they've been Named by schoolchildren
after a successful competition last year.
Cllr steve harker, tvca cabinet member for transport and
infrastructure and leader of darlington borough council, is
delighted with the cash uplift and its impact on local services.
He said: “it's fantastic news to see the government backing our
buses by providing us with extra funding we need to bring
our region's fleet right up to date.
“this all means we'll see more electric buses on our streets, and
it allows us to invest in our infrastructure. It's also a big
boost to hear the arriva depot at faverdale will be fully
electrified.
“this will bring greater reliability and better services to
thousands of passengers. I'm looking forward to seeing the
additional electric buses on the ground.”
Steve walker, managing director for stagecoach north east, said:
“we welcome this further investment which will help accelerate
the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable bus network
across the tees valley.
“the additional funding will support the electrification of our
hartlepool depot and enable more zero-emission buses to operate
across the region, building on the success of the electric fleet
already serving local communities.
“working in partnership with the tees valley combined authority
and the department for transport, we're committed to delivering
greener and cleaner journeys for our customers while playing our
part in supporting the region's ambitions for a more sustainable
transport network.”
Richard hoare, managing director of arriva north, added: “this
funding is a huge leap forward for cleaner public transport in
the tees valley.
“subject to final approvals, introducing 54 new electric buses
alongside the 21 that arriva already has for darlington would
allow us to fully electrify the depot.
“we're really pleased with that progress, and it means we'll be
delivering quieter, zero-emission journeys for our customers and
communities.”
The funding boost comes after the mayor and combined authority
Agreed to back three
services with from april to the summer To replace tees flex.
These include the x86 to serve the western villages of stockton,
an extended service 10 to serve sadberge, and the new service 51
in hartlepool.
Cllr pamela hargreaves, tvca cabinet member for creative place
and leader of hartlepool borough council, added: “we want better
services, better information and better buses in hartlepool – and
the rollout of more electric buses and modernisation of the
stagecoach depot will help take us up a level.
“this comes on the back of the good news on a new service 51
coming in april to link dalton piercy and elwick with hartlepool
sixth form college and hartlepool town centre.
“it's great to have the government backing our buses and i'm
looking forward to seeing the hartlepool depot get the investment
it deserves.”
